Gary Payton scored 22 points and Detlef Schrempf added 13 as the
Seattle SuperSonics held off a furious flurry by the Phoenix
Suns in the final seconds to win their fourth straight game,
89-87.

Payton hit 9-of-17 from the floor and Schrempf added 10 rebounds
and eight assists in his second game back following a throat
injury. The two combined for three free throws as Seattle
failed to score from the field over the final 5:27.

After Schrempf hit 1-of-2 from the line to give the Sonics a
89-87 lead, the Suns called time and inbounded from halfcourt
with 9.6 seconds left. The pass went to a driving Rex Chapman,
whose layup went in and out. Both George McCloud and Antonio
McDyess missed short follows before Chapman's high-arcing
baseline jumper bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"I don't know if we did enough to really deserve to win," said
Seattle coach George Karl. "I think a lot of luck was on our
side. I'm a little disappointed at getting outworked."

Third-place Phoenix fell six games behind first-place Seattle in
the Pacific Division with its third loss in four games.

Seattle, which led by eight points after a three-pointer by
Hersey Hawkins with 5:27 to go, has won its last three games by
a total of five points.

"We got lucky, that's the bottom line," said Hawkins. "They
outhustled us, they outplayed us and if we were in Phoenix they
probably would've won this game."

McDyess totaled 24 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Scott added
19 points, including a three-pointer that pulled Phoenix within
88-87 with 11 seconds to play. Chapman contributed 13 points
for the Suns in their first visit to Seattle since they lost
Game Five in the opening round of last season's playoffs.

Leading 75-70 after three quarters, the Sonics took their
biggest lead of the game after Dale Ellis buried a three-pointer
and Sam Perkins sank a free throw 1 1/2 minutes into the final
period.

McDyess hit consecutive baskets and Hot Rod Williams, who
grabbed 13 rebounds, hit a free throw to pull the Suns within
79-75 with 7:19 to go. Seattle went back on top by eight after
Hawkins' three-pointer before Phoenix fought back, creeping
within 86-84 on a free throw by Jason Kidd with 3:04 remaining.

Both teams went cold until Payton hit a pair from the line with
29 seconds left, doubling the lead. Scott made his
three-pointer for the game's first basket in nearly three
minutes before Schrempf was fouled and hit the second of two
from the line.

"They weren't shooting the ball well and it was a good thing for
us because we weren't rebounding the ball," Payton said. "It
was a good win... an ugly one, but we'll take it."

Williams started in the middle for Cliff Robinson, who was a
late scratch with back spasms. Without Robinson, who averages
13.2 points per game, the Suns managed just 39 percent
(34-of-88) from the field. Chapman was the biggest offender,
missing 14 of 19 shots.

"We had a lot of missed opportunities," Chapman said. "Every
time we got a couple of breaks, we couldn't take advantage of
them. We ran our last possession to perfection only the shot
didn't go in."

Vin Baker added 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and Perkins scored
nine in 19 minutes for the Sonics, who were outrebounded 58-41
but committed just 12 turnovers while forcing 18.

"I felt we did a good job rebounding the ball and played well
defensively for the the most part," said Phoenix coach Danny
Ainge. "We didn't get a lot of offense out of Jason and Rex,
but we got a lot of great things out of them. Overall we played
a great game, with the exception that we needed to make more
shots."

The Sonics improved to 8-0 at home against Pacific Division foes
despite shooting just 40 percent (31-of-77) from the field and
61 percent (17-of-28) from the line. They moved to 15-1 overall
against their own division, where they hold a 4 1/2-game lead
over the Los Angeles Lakers.

McCloud collected 11 points and 11 rebounds but Kidd netted a
mere five points on 2-of-13 shooting for the Suns, who tied a
team record by attempting only one free throw in the entire
first half. Kidd did add 13 assists and eight rebounds, but
committed seven turnovers.

"I missed a lot of easy shots and started to aim the ball
instead of shooting it," Kidd conceded. "It was just one of
those days when nothing went right."